The eighth Japan ICT Day took place in Hanoi on October 30, with a focus on cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in large-scale information technology (IT) projects and the development of human resources in the IT sector.

Held within the framework of the 2014 Asian-Oceania Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) ICT Summit, the event attracted nearly 100 representatives from 47 Japanese businesses, the biggest amount so far. It was also attended by companies from the Republic of Korea, Israel, Malaysia and Singapore.

According to a report by Japan’s Information-Technology Promotion Agency, Vietnam is Japan’s second largest ICT partner and Japanese businesses’ most favourite partner, with 31.5 percent of total votes.

In addition to cultural similarities, abundant and cheap labour also makes Vietnam attractive to Japanese investors, the report states.

Nguyen Doan Hung, head of the Vietnam-Japan Information Technology Cooperation Club, said the Japanese Government and IT groups plan to implement a number of large projects by 2020, requiring a large skilled workforce. This will be a good chance for Vietnam, he added.

In order to partner with the Japanese side on big projects, Junko Kawauchi, Vice President in charge of Global Affairs of the Japan Information Technology and Services Industry Association (JISA), stressed the need for Vietnamese businesses to increase the quality of personnel and expand their scale of operations.

On October 31, Japanese businesses will visit central Da Nang city to attend a conference on Vietnam-Japan IT cooperation.-VNA